


Deep End

by gayliensav



Series: If You Could Only Know [3]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men: Apocalypse
Genre: Alkali Lake, Canon Divergence, Erik is a protective dad, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Minor Character Death, dadneto, slightly angsty ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-12 20:12:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7120819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayliensav/pseuds/gayliensav
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik's tradition passes onto Peter. The tradition of losing family and being hurt isn't the one he wanted to pass down to his son.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Feel the Current Within

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please take a look at the warnings before reading this story because this one is definitely dark compared to the previous story in this series.

"We should be doing this in my room," Peter mumbled against Alex Summers' lips.

They were still in that phase of the relationship where they couldn't really keep their hands off of each other. Raven even went off on them during a training session in the danger room because they snuck off and started making out.

"It's fine," Alex said against his neck.

Peter let out a breathy moan, running his hand through Alex's blond hair as he did. He never knew getting his neck kissed was a turn on until Alex. He also never knew Alex Summers could be so possessive until they started officially dating. It wasn't overly possessive or anything, Peter could draw a line if it got to that. But Alex loved marking him anywhere he possible could, he always walked down the hallway with his arms wrapped around him or holding his hand.

And Peter didn't _mind_. He never thought he'd like the idea of someone protecting him. He was a relatively independent guy (sure, he lived in his mom's basement way longer than he should have, but things were different now) and he never really thought he'd have a long term relationship.

But this thing with Alex...he could see staying in this for the long haul.

"Who the hell is out here- PETER!"

Peter shoved Alex away gently when he saw his dad come out of his room. He didn't realize that they were even outside of Erik's door when Alex had practically shoved him against the wall and started a heated make out session.

"Uh...hey, Erik," Peter laughed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Things were better now. Different, but definitely better. Erik wasn't ignoring him anymore and was actually putting an effort into speaking to him at least once a day. He wasn't ready for Peter to start calling him "dad" but Peter wasn't ready for that either.

Walking in on him and Alex makes him uncomfortable though. For many reasons.

Erik had a list in his head to defend himself on why he didn't like Alex with Peter when Charles called him on it.

  1. He didn't need to see someone grabbing all over his son or anyone for that matter.
  2. Alex is way too old for Peter.
  3. Alex probably isn't good enough for Peter.
  4. "You wanted me to be a father, Charles, well I am a protective father!"



Charles usually rolled his eyes when he told him those things.

Charles really should stop rolling his eyes at him.

"Please...stop this," Erik said, pinching the bridge of his nose, "And Peter, fix your shirt."

Peter looked down and saw that his t-shirt was riding up and pulled it down quickly, his cheeks turning red.

"Hey, no one complains when you and the professor play chess," Alex crossed his arms.

"Chess has nothing to do with this!" Erik said, looking confused, "What does _chess_ have to do with any of this?"

"I thought chess was a euphemism for sex," Peter said bluntly, "Everyone here thinks so too, except the younger ones."

"Charles and I are not sleeping together and I have no idea where you got an idea like this!" Erik said, glaring at the two.

"Whatever, man," Peter rolled his eyes.

 _Why does everyone roll their eyes at me?_ Erik thought, annoyed.

"Want to see the new stuff I can do with my powers?" Peter asked, "Alex and I were about to go outside and practice by the lake."

"Are you actually practicing or are you going to make out more?" Erik demanded, "Because I'd rather not see that."

"Actually practice," Alex said, glaring at him.

"Alex, I'm pretty sure those dog tags you wear all the time are made of metal," Erik said simply.

"You can't hurt me, I'm dating your son," Alex said, grabbing Peter's hand.

"Yeah, no hurting my boyfriend, man," Peter said, dragging Alex out, "C'mon, let's go!"

Peter would never admit he was excited to show off to his father but he totally was.

* * *

"Okay, Peter," Charles said, sitting beside Erik by the lake.

Erik didn't like sitting out here. The ground wasn't very level. Charles could probably fall out of his chair at any moment and into the lake.

"Erik, please pay attention to your son and pay less attention to my safety, please," Charles said simply, "You know he likes showing you these things."

"Stay out of my head, Charles," Erik mumbled, standing beside his chair.

Alex set up one of the practice dummies and stepped away.

"Focus on the speed current that flows through you," Charles said, "Then make the current go to your arm, like we practiced. Just your arm."

Peter took a deep breath and nodded. He closed his eyes before smacking the dummy with the palm of his hand.

Nothing happened.

"You can do it, Pete," Alex said quietly, watching him.

Peter took a deep breath in his nose and blew it out of his mouth before trying again. This time, he knew it worked. He felt the speed flow through his body and to his arm. He smacked the dummy as hard as he could, sending it flying across the yard and into the air.

"Alex, now!" Charles yelled.

Alex shot an energy blast at the dummy while it was in the air and it blew up. The pieces fell to the ground, some of them on fire.

Peter ran inside and grabbed the fire extinguisher (they kept tons of them around with all the different fire and heat related powers some of the students had) and appeared with it, putting the pieces out.

"Alex, Peter, that was amazing team work from the two of you," Charles said proudly, "We'll have Scott come out later and try with you Peter."

"I like working with Alex," Peter said as he picked the pieces up with the other man.

"I'm sure you do, but you need to practice with your other teammates," Charles told them, laughing quietly, "We'll also try that once with Kurt and see if he can grab it...and maybe Jean can try to grab it with her powers."

"Oh, Ororo could try to send lightening at it!" Peter suggested.

"We'll have to do it on a cloudy day or people could become suspicious of that one," Charles chuckled, then turned to Erik, "What did you think, Erik?" he asked, giving him a look.

Erik glanced up and saw the eager look on Peter's face and the bored look on Alex's, "Peter did an amazing job, I think Alex could use some work on his aim though."

Alex narrowed his eyes and Peter gave him a smile that was all teeth. It reminded Charles of Erik's.

"Letters!" Jean called as she walked up the driveway from the post box before they could say anything else.

The students crowded around her as she called their names and Peter laughed, watching them.

"They're eager for a piece of paper," Peter rolled his eyes.

"Peter, you have one!" Jean called when she saw him.

"What?" Peter demanded before speeding over beside her, causing the wind to blow all of their hair around.

"From your parents," she said, handing him one before going back to calling names.

Peter grabbed it and walked back over to their spot on the grass. He sat down, opening it, "It's from my parents."

Alex sat down beside him, "What's going on?"

"Oh," Peter laughed quietly, "Lorna has a dance recital soon. They want me to come."

"They couldn't say that over the phone?" Erik asked suddenly.

"Apparently not," Peter said, "And it's an official invitation with her picture on it and everything," he told him, showing it, "Look how cute she is, man."

"What color is her hair?" Charles asked, looking confused.

"Oh, red, but kind of a weird red," Peter shrugged.

"It looks like there's green in there," Alex said, looking down at the pictures, "Any chance your parents adopted another mutant?"

Peter shrugged, "Anything could happen. That could be pretty cool," he laughed, looking down at the picture. He sighed and stood up, "It's in a few days, they must have mailed it out late. Maybe I should go early...visit for a few days. Lorna was pretty pissed when I moved out. She was used to being around."

"I'm sure your family would love that, Peter," Charles said, encouraging him. He elbowed Erik's side quickly.

Erik glared at him before nodding, "You should...have some time off anyways."

Peter bit his lip, "You'll give me a call if the world starts ending, right?" he asked Charles.

"Of course," Charles nodded.

"Going to miss me?" Peter asked, turning to Alex.

"Duh," Alex said before kissing him.

"I swore you two said you wouldn't start making out when you brought me out here," Erik said.

"Not planned," Peter said against Alex's lips.

Erik sighed, "I expect a goodbye before you leave."

"'Course," Peter said, his lips still attached to Alex's.

"Come on, Charles," Erik said, pushing his chair, "Leave them to their business- there are children around!" he scolded when Alex rolled on top of Peter.

* * *

"So the recital is in two days...I'll probably stay the night too. Then I'll be back by Monday," Peter shrugged as he brought his bag downstairs.

"I'm sure it won't be a problem," Charles said, "You know the number for the school if you have a problem, right?"

"Yeah, man," Peter said, rolling his eyes. He hugged the professor quickly, not saying a word as he did. He hadn't really left the school since he moved in. The professor took out time to teach him his powers, comfort him if he accidentally broke something...or if Erik said something stupid, and he was basically like a _third_ dad to him.

He'd miss the guy.

"Everything will be fine, Peter," Charles laughed, "We'll be here when you get back."

"Okay, okay, my turn," Alex said, jogging downstairs with Peter's other bag in his hand. He wrapped an arm around Peter's waist and pulled him into a deep kiss.

Erik sighed as he walked out and stood beside Charles' chair, waiting for the two to finish.

"I'll miss you so much," Alex mumbled against his lips.

"Miss you more," Peter said, pulling away and staring at him before kissing him again.

"Okay, _enough_ ," Erik said quickly.

"Uh, right," Peter kissed him again. He wanted to say he loved Alex, but it was really early in their relationship. That was why he didn't invite Alex to come with him to visit his family. He wasn't sure if Alex was ready for that.

Peter walked over to Erik and swallowed, "Uh...bye," he said awkwardly.

Charles elbowed Erik's leg.

Erik sighed and pulled Peter into an awkward hug, "I'll see you on Monday."

Peter couldn't help but smile as he pulled away, "Okay, one more," he said, appearing in front of Alex and kissing him again.

He disappeared before their eyes, grabbing his bag from Alex as he did.

"Now what?" Alex asked, closing the door that Peter left open.

"You could actually work on getting your GED," Charles said bluntly, "Didn't you say you wanted to do that?"

"Nah," Alex said before walking upstairs.

Erik swallowed, staring at the door.

"He'll be okay, Erik," Charles assured him.

Erik tried to fight off the feeling of worry. He couldn't be overprotective of a _twenty seven year-old_. He couldn't be. It was irrational. Peter could take care of himself and no one could stop him.

"It's okay to worry," Charles told him.

"Stay out of my head, Charles," Erik sighed.

"I wasn't in your head that time," Charles said, smiling slightly, "But I know you too well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is in reference to "Deep End" by Ruelle. Each chapter will be titled with lyrics from the song that go with the chapter.
> 
> While Peter is definitely the focus of this fic, you'll see his relationship with Alex's progression in the form of flashbacks. I know most people don't like sudden relationships and there was definitely a small time jump between the fics where their relationship developed. So you'll be seeing those through flashbacks.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!


	2. I Can't Catch My Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tragedy strikes and Peter doesn't even have time to mourn before things go from bad to worse. The X-Men assemble to help Peter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is honestly...I don't know. I was literally talking to my friend while I was writing a certain part of this chapter (I'm sure you'll guess what part it is) because I'm definitely not used to writing scenes like this.
> 
> This is where the story gets dark, proceed with caution.

"I'm worried," Alex stalked into Charles' office, Erik following right behind him.

Charles sighed, "I do have paperwork, you know. I run a school," he said, putting the pen down and looking up at the two, "Were you two actually talking?"

"About Peter, yes," Erik nodded.

"You two do realize that Peter is an _adult_ , right?" Charles asked, "He is one of the most powerful mutants I've ever seen."

They both went silent.

"Think about this, for a moment," Charles said, "No one can really catch Peter. He will outrun them no matter what. He'll be back on Monday. Until then, you two can...bond or something. I'm sure Peter would love that."

Alex stared at Erik for a moment before turning to Charles, "No," he said simply before walking out.

Erik sat down across from Charles, "I'll make a deal with you."

"If I say yes, will you let me work?" Charles asked.

"Probably," Erik shrugged, "Tomorrow, I want you to use Cerebro to check on Peter."

"No, Erik," Charles sighed.

"Why not?" Erik demanded.

"Because Peter is an adult," Charles explained, "I know you want to check up on him, but he can protect himself."

"It's _our job_ to protect him. You said he'd be protected, I remember you saying that," Erik said quickly, starting to sound distressed.

"Sunday. I will check on him on Sunday," Charles told him, "Okay? I'll say I wanted to know what time he was coming home."

"Thank you," Erik said, sounding slightly relieved, "Do you want to play chess?"

"I want to work, Erik, please get a hobby," Charles groaned.

* * *

Peter showed up at the house and instantly walked inside, sighing when he accidentally scraped the new welcome mat.

"Damn," Peter mumbled when he saw it and walked inside, "Hey, anyone home?" he called loudly, "Lorna, you here, kid?" he called, looking at the clock. She might still be in school or something. Usually she'd be walking home or home already...maybe she got some friends or something. He hadn't talked to her in a while.

"Mom?" Peter looked around the living room and sighed, going into the kitchen, "Dad, you here?"

Silence.

"What the hell?" Peter mumbled.

Django wasn't exactly _employed_ and all his gigs were usually at night, so he slept during the day. Marya might be at work, but the last time Peter checked, this wasn't a day she worked. Lorna would either be walking home from school or here already...

Where were they?

"Hey, I'm coming up," Peter called, walking up the stairs, "Anyone home?" he called, "Mom? Dad?" he asked, looking confused when he saw their bedroom door was closed. It was almost never closed because they had a house cat that liked to lay in there during the day. He opened the door slowly, "You guys h-"

His knees almost gave out on him at what he saw.

His mother was on he floor and she was pale. She had duct tape over her mouth and her hands were tied in front of her. Beside her, Django was lying in the same position.

"No," Peter breathed out, "No, no, no, no, no," he choked out, pulling the duct tape off of Marya's mouth and then Django's. He felt sick, looking at them both. Now that he was closer, he could see there were two bullets in each of their heads.

His mother's eyes were closed, but Django's were open, staring straight at the ceiling.

"Please, wake up," Peter said hoarsely, "Please, please, please," he whimpered, "PLEASE!"

It felt like time was going slow now. Slower than normal. He looked down and saw that he'd kneeled down in a puddle of their blood. His parents' blood.

He reached a shaky hand down and touched the side of Marya's neck, searching for a pulse, for any sign of life.

Silence. No movement. Nothing.

Peter choked out a sob and did the same for Django, sobbing harder when he felt no signs of life in either of his parents.

He stumbled backwards, landing on his ass when he did as he tried to move out of the puddle of blood that had formed on the hardwood floor.

Then he remembered.

_Lorna._

Peter let out a gasp and ran to Lorna's room, searching for her. Her backpack was still there and so were her shoes. Her clothes were laid out for school still, meaning she hadn't even went today. Her dress for her dance recital was hanging on the doorknob of her closet. Everything seemed _normal_.

Peter quickly ran downstairs and grabbed the phone.

_"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"_

"Th-This is Peter Maximoff," he said quickly, "I'm at my parents' house a-and they're dead. I-I," he took a shaky breath, "I can't find my little sister and I don't know what to do-"

_"Sir, stay calm, we have your address on record and we're sending officers-"_

Peter hung up the phone and instantly called the school.

_"Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, how can I help y-"_

"JUBILEE!" Peter yelled quickly, "It's Peter. I need to talk to the professor. It's an emergency, hurry-" he was cut off when he felt a sharp pain in his neck, like he'd gotten a shot.

He instantly tried to pull whatever it was out, but the darkness started to take over and he dropped the phone.

"Peter? PETER!" Jubilee was yelling.

Suddenly, a loud shock rang through the room. He remembered the sound before, but he couldn't place it. A pulse of energy went through his body and his ears started to ring before he fell to the ground, his world turning to black.

* * *

"Professor!" Jubilee said, running into the room, "Professor, something is wrong!"

"What is it?" Charles asked, already wheeling himself around his desk.

"It's Peter! He called and said it was an emergency but I heard a noise an he stopped talking. It was like a loud ringing. I had to put it down because it was hurting my ears-" Jubilee started.

"Please, get Erik for me," Charles took a deep breath and put his hand to the side of his head, trying to contact Peter. He doubted he could do it at this range, but he had to try.

Nothing. Silence.

"Damn," Charles cursed.

"Charles, what's going on?" Erik demanded, walking into the room.

"I need to get to Cerebro, now. It's Peter," Charles said quickly.

"What's going on?" Alex demanded, walking in.

"Come with us, now," Erik said, pushing Charles' wheelchair for him.

* * *

"We should just go to the house. We know where he is," Alex said quickly.

"I need to contact him, Alex," Charles said, putting Cerebro over his head and taking a deep breath, "Neither of you move, I'll need to do this as quickly as possible."

"Stop shaking," Erik snapped at Alex when he saw his hands shaking, "We don't want you to blow up the school again."

"Man, I will _fight you right now_ -" Alex started but Cerebro activated.

"He's moving too fast to track," Charles said, his eyes closed, "But he's not...running. He's...Peter is unconscious," he said quickly, "I'm going to try to contact him."

He could see Peter now, almost. But it was like there was a blur in front of him. He was almost there but he couldn't quite get to him.

Charles gasped in pain when he felt what reminded him of an electrical shock in his head, "I can't get in."

"What do we do?" Alex asked urgently.

"I'm going to try to keep a hold on him, once he wakes up, I may be able to find where he is," he said, closing his eyes tightly.

* * *

Peter gasped as he woke up, looking around where he was. He heard noises outside...it sounded like a helicopter. It _was_ a helicopter. He was in a helicopter.

He touched the side of the cage and yelled out in pain when he was electrocuted.

It was just like last time.

Peter took a deep breath and made his hand vibrate, trying to press it against the metal bars and gasped in pain when it happened again. He froze when he suddenly saw the tops of trees out the window as the helicopter lowered down. He looked confused when he saw the place he'd been before...with that guy! He couldn't remember his name, but he brought them there when he wanted to know where the professor was.

"Well, look who is awake," a man chuckled and opened the door, grabbing him by his leg.

"Hey, man, you better watch it!" Peter yelled as the man drug him out.

"Huh," the man chuckled, "You're a pretty one, aren't you?"

Peter knew this guy was bigger than him, probably stronger than him since he didn't have the room to use his speed to push him right now...but he was feeling irrational and the guy called him _pretty_. Alex would have decked the guy.

So Peter kicked him in the face.

"You little _bitch_!" he yelled, grabbing him by the hair instantly, making him cry out in pain.

"Hey, don't damage him," another man said quickly, "Stryker personally asked for this one," he said, grabbing Peter out of the helicopter and pulled him out into the snow.

"SHIT!" the other man yelled when Peter tried to run. He grabbed onto Peter and so did the other man.

* * *

"I have something," Charles said quickly.

* * *

_"Peter?"_ Charles called.

"PROFESSOR!" Peter yelled, holding the side of his head, "Help me, man! Freeze them!"

 _"Peter, I can't do that from here, where are you?"_ he asked quickly.

"The lake place! I was here with Jean and Scott! That guy, he captured us- OW, FUCK YOU!" Peter yelled, getting angry when a third man grabbed onto him, dragging him to the ground.

The snow was cold and getting his face shoved in it didn't help.

"Get the cuff on his damn ankle, Marty," one of the men spat.

Peter kicked, punched, and screamed. That's what his mom had always taught him. If anyone ever tried to take him, do whatever he possibly could to get away. Even if it meant you had to bite someone. And Django showed him karate.

His parents were great.

Peter froze when he _remembered_. He remembered his mother, the woman who raised him, lying pale on the floor, two bullets in her head. He gave up, letting the men who what they wanted. He remembered his father's eyes, the bright eyes that were once full of light when he looked at Peter and his sisters with love, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He gave up.

His parents were _dead_.

* * *

"Peter, we'll be there as soon as we can. Just hold on, ple-" Charles stopped, "Oh god."

"What is it?" Erik asked quickly.

"Marya and Django," Charles breathed out, "They were dead when Peter arrived. I can feel his _grief_..." he took a shaky breath, "Peter, we'll be there as soon as we can, just hang on, okay?"

Silence.

"He's not answering," Charles took off Cerebro and set it down. He took a deep breath, "Erik, tell Hank to ready the plane. Alex, I'll need Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, Jean, and Mystique immediately. Tell them we need to leave," he swallowed, "Put a teacher in charge of the students and please act casual around them. We don't want to scare them. Tell Jubilee to redirect any of the students that were in my lecture today to an activity outside. We have to leave. Now."

Erik and Alex didn't move.

"ERIK, ALEX, NOW!" Charles yelled, finally startling them out of their shocked phase and then both ran out quickly.

Charles took a shaky breath and went to meet Hank.

Why did it seem like every time he told them _"it will be fine"_ something went horribly wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...wow. Yeah. Here we are. My heart hurts a little after writing that.
> 
> Expect maybe another update today. I'm already working on that because I'm an insomniac who drank coffee (I make a lot of bad decisions).
> 
> I also wanted to check with you guys about the portrayal of the characters (especially Charles and Erik). While they do have a romantic attraction towards each other, I want to make sure I'm still writing them correctly. Do you guys like the way they've been portrayed in this series so far?


	3. Slipping Into the Deep End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter sees a familiar face in the facility and the X-Men get ready to start their mission to rescue Peter.

Peter woke up and blinked a few times, trying to figure out where he was. The last thing he remembered was being pushed into the snow and someone knocking him out again.

He was so going to have a concussion after this.

He groaned and tried to sit up, freezing when he couldn't. He looked down and saw metal binds on his wrists, keeping him strapped the table. He looked down and saw his legs were in a similar position, along with a black piece of plastic around his ankle that had a small circle on it that was lit up brightly with a green color.

Well, he could make quick work of that.

He tried to vibrate like legs like he'd learned in his class so he could phase through it. He froze when his leg worked at a normal speed and not his own.

Peter took a shaky breath and closed his eyes tightly, willing himself not to cry. He hated this feeling. He didn't feet it very often. _Helplessness_.

As soon as he closed his eyes, the images of his parents flashed into his mind. Their corpses...Django's cold, dead eyes staring at the ceiling.

His eyes snapped open and he felt them fill with tears. They were gone and he was helpless. Where was Lorna? She had to be okay, right? He couldn't lose her too. He couldn't lose anyone else.

Peter let out a choked out sob, finally losing control of his own tears. He desperately started to pull on the binds, crying out in pain as he did. But he didn't care. He had to get out.

"Enough," a voice over the loud speaker snapped and then a shock wave was sent through his body, originating from the thing on his ankle.

He cried out in pain, closing his eyes tightly but then snapped them open again at the image of Django's eyes again.

A man walked in, followed by a woman.

"Hey, man, I don't like needles," he said quickly when he pulled one out. He tried to pull away but the woman held him down. He was surprised by the strength she had.

"Get as much out of him as you can without killing him," Stryker's voice said over the speaker.

"What?!" Peter choked out, "You're fuckin' nuts, man. Wait until my dad gets a hold of you, he's going to kill you!" he yelled, "I'm a member of the X-Men! They're all going to be on your ASS-"

He cried out in pain when he was shocked again.

"I hope you learn to control your mouth while you're here," Stryker said over the speaker.

Peter closed his eyes tightly for a moment when the needle entered his arm. He recognized the thing. It was one of those butterfly needles they used to take blood work at the hospital. They had to use it when they couldn't find Lorna's vein when she was sick and had to get blood tests done. He held her hand the entire time and Django held the other while Marya sang to her.

His eyes snapped open again when the image of his mother's pale skin entered his mind.

Peter watched as his blood came out of him and into the tubes.

 _How much do they want?_ Peter thought, his vision starting to go blurry.

"I think that's enough for now," the nurse said simply, "We can't have him lose consciousness, Max."

He looked up and saw "Max" was the guy who was creeping on him earlier. The guy who called him _pretty_.

Aw, fuck, not **this guy**.

Peter looked up and saw the man staring at him and wanted to gag. He looked away quickly and saw the nurse going through papers, "Hey," he said, trying to get her attention, "Hey, lady, you look nice. I'm just giving you a fair warning...my dad is gonna bust into this place and murder all of you. He's totally **insane**. So you better just get out of here now."

The thing on his leg shocked him again and he gasped in pain, closing his eyes tightly.

"A skin sample on the leg has been ordered for this one," the nurse said, "And a hair sample. Stryker is interested in the color."

"Don't touch my legs or my hair!" Peter yelled, "Fucking freaks! My boyfriend is going to _blow your asses up_! You're dead! Those two are coming for you and you better just run now-"

Peter groaned in pain when they shocked in him again.

* * *

Alex sat on the plane, his hands gripping the belt tightly. He was still waiting for Scott and Jean to show up and get on the damn plane so they could go.

"That's it," Alex snapped, unbuckling his belt and shoving it off.

"Alex, please, sit down," Charles said quickly.

"No, fuck this," Alex growled, stalking off the plane and into the hangar. He walked out and saw Scott and Jean still suiting up and talking, "You do realize my boyfriend's life is in the FUCKING BALANCE, right?!"

"Alex, calm down," Scott said quickly.

"No, I'm not going to calm down!" Alex yelled, "Peter could be hurt and you two are out here gossiping. SO **GET ON THE FUCKING PLANE**!" he yelled before stalking in.

"Oh, I like him," he heard Erik tell Charles.

Alex buckled his seat belt and Scott and Jean hurried on the plane shortly after, avoiding eye contact with Alex.

Alex closed his eyes tightly, suddenly wishing he had Charles' powers so he could at least talk to Peter. Just to hear his **voice**.

_"I didn't need you to beat that guy up," Peter laughed._

_"And I don't need you to do this for me," Alex said, looking down as Peter wrapped his knuckles, "They'll heal."_

_Peter shrugged, "This will help them heal faster though, I think. I probably should have asked Hank before I did this," he laughed nervously. He bit his lip, "Why did you beat him up?"_

_"He was harassing you. No means no," Alex shrugged, "Just, uh...returning the favor. You saved my little brother."_

_"You aren't pissed that I didn't save you anymore, man?" Peter asked, a smile on his face._

_"Just a few broken bones," Alex joked, "But I'm fine now."_

_Peter rolled his eyes since Alex was basically using his own words against him, "There," he said quietly, running his hand over the bandages, "All done."_

_It looked like a child did it, honestly. Alex appreciated the sentiment though._

_"Thanks, kid," Alex smiled weakly._

_"I'm not a kid," Peter said quickly._

_"I know," Alex said, taking a step closer to him, "Trust me, I know."_

_Peter blinked in shock at the sudden close proximity and let go of Alex's hand, "Alex, what are you doing?"_

_"I don't know," Alex breathed out and pressed his lips against his._

_Peter's eyes widened in shock for a moment before he returned the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Alex's neck, pulling him closer._

_Alex smiled against his lips and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling the speedster as close as possible._

"Why are you smiling?" Erik demanded suddenly, snapping him out of the happy thoughts he was feeling.

"I was thinking about making out with your son," Alex said bluntly, throwing the other man.

"Please refrain from doing that and think about saving him," Erik snapped.

"Don't tell me what to think about," Alex snapped right back.

"Enough, you two," Raven snapped and took a deep breath, "Okay, do any of you remember the way around this place?"

"No," Scott said, "We were moving too fast trying to find you guys."

"They might keep him in the same place as last time though. That place seemed pretty mutant proof," Jean pointed out.

Raven nodded, "We'll find that room first."

"I thought that crazy guy with the claws killed everyone there," Scott said, "How could more people be there to take Peter?"

"Stryker ran away," Raven told them, "It was only a matter of time before he started again."

"Well, this time he's made a mistake," Erik said simply, "This will be the last time he takes a mutant."

They all looked up at him.

"He took my son," Erik told them, "He won't be living to take another mutant after this."

"Erik," Charles said quietly, "No killing."

Erik shook his head, "Not this time, Charles."

"Erik-" Charles started.

"We're landing," Hank called, "I had to land further away or they would see us."

"Okay, game plan-" Raven started.

"The game plan is to infiltrate, find Peter, stop anyone who gets in your path by any means necessary. If you see Stryker, keep him alive. He's mine," Erik said, taking his seat belt off before they even landed all the way.

"ERIK!" Charles yelled.

Erik waited until the plane was on the ground before swinging open the door and walking out.

Charles took a deep breath and looked at all of them, "No killing. No matter what Erik says, do not kill anyone unless it is in self defense."

"You got it," Scott said before running out with the others.

"Hank, stay for back up," Charles told him.

* * *

"Enjoy your new cellmate," Max laughed, practically dragging him in by his hair, "Just don't piss her off," he said, grabbing him before he could go into the cell, "We'll definitely have some private time later, you and I."

"You're fucking dead," Peter laughed, "You're so fucking **dead**."

Max pulled him close to him and ran his hands down his sides and grabbed his ass.

Peter gritted his teeth, doing his best not to react. If he shoved the guy now, he'd probably have enough to push him away, but then what? The wall was right behind him and he still had that thing around his ankle. He'd be screwed.

"Aw, that's not fair, sugar, don't you want me?" Max asked.

"Enough," a familiar voice said.

Peter looked confused and looked behind him in the cell, "Wanda?" he breathed out.

"Pietro," she whispered. Her hands glowed red for a moment and she looked ready to shoot the guy with one of her hexes but she had the same thing he had around his ankle but it was around her wrist. She gasped in pain and clutched her wrist, the red disappearing.

"Leave her alone!" Peter yelled, realizing Max had pressed some kind of button. He tried to take a swing at him and Max grabbed his wrist roughly and looked in his eyes as they glowed red.

"Let him go," Wanda growled.

"You'll do what I say, won't you, Peter?" Max whispered.

Peter stared at him and nodded, not blinking.

"Get in there, we'll talk later," Max smirked, touching his cheek before shoving him in the room and closing the door.

Peter blinked a few times, trying to clear his head, "What just _happened_?"

"Mind control," Wanda gritted her teeth, "That's his power."

"This is where you've been?" Peter choked out, "We thought you left."

"I did...for a while," she said, "Then they caught me...they said my DNA matched Magneto's."

"It does, we're his kids," Peter said bluntly.

Wanda ran her hand through her hair, taking a deep breath.

"Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" Peter demanded, touching her hand.

"They took skin samples from me...and they've taken a lot of blood. They even tried to take a sample of my power but it blew up everything," Wanda whispered, "I'm injured...I didn't listen."

Peter gritted his teeth and looked down at the bruises on his sister's hands, "I can't believe it," he whispered, "How long have you been here?"

"I don't know," Wanda whispered.

"What year is it, Wanda?" Peter asked quietly.

"1980, right?" Wanda asked.

Peter stared at her with wide eyes, "No, it's 1984."

"No, no, that's impossible," Wanda shook her head quickly, "It couldn't have been that long."

"It is," Peter choked out, "I didn't know you were in trouble. I'm so sorry, Wanda, I thought-"

"It's not your fault," Wanda said quickly, "It's okay, Pietro, calm down."

Peter shook his head and closed his eyes before taking her into a tight hug, "I'm so sorry, Wanda."

Wanda ignored the pain in her side when Peter clung to her and she ran her hand through his silver hair, trying to comfort her brother, "It's not your fault, Pietro," she whispered, "I told mom and dad that I was leaving to protect you guys. You couldn't have known."

Peter let out a sob at the mention of their parents.

"Pietro, what's wrong?" Wanda asked quickly.

Peter shook his head, hiding his face against her shoulder, "They're _gone_ , Wanda," he choked out.

Wanda stared at him with wide eyes, "No," she said quickly, "They can't be gone."

"I came home and they were dead," he whispered and looked down at his pants, "Oh god, it's still on me," he whimpered, looking at the blood.

"Pietro, Pietro, look at me," Wanda said quickly, "It's okay."

Peter was used to being the stronger of the two. He was a little older, he was the big brother. He was the protective one, he was the one that calmed Wanda down when they discovered their powers. He was the one who held her when the kids picked on them at school, he was the one who held her when that stupid boy stood her up for prom as some kind of sick joke.

But Wanda was the strong one right now and he could accept that because he felt like he was drowning in his own sadness and fear.

Peter shook his head, "They're dead, Wanda. Mom and dad are dead. I couldn't _find_ Lorna. I don't know where she is. She might be dead too. They're gone."

"It's going to be okay," Wanda whispered, "Just calm down, it's going to be okay."

Somehow Peter doubted that.


	4. It's Taking Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rescue mission doesn't go according to plan. Alex meets Wanda.

Erik raised his hand and instantly ripped off the front door. He didn't bother to even try to stay quiet like the others wanted to. His son...his _only child_ was in there and these people were doing who knows what to him.

"Magneto!" Scott snapped, "We're supposed to take a cautious approach."

"Fuck cautiousness," Alex said, throwing a blast at one of the guards instantly, before he could even react.

Jean looked over at Scott nervously and swallowed, "Guys, you have to stop!" she yelled, "We're going to all get caught and they might take Peter somewhere else."

"We'll be fast," Erik said simply, taking one of the men's guns from him without even touching it and turned it, shooting the man in the head.

Jean cried out in shock and Kurt gasped.

"Let's go," Alex said simply, following Erik. He didn't even seem phased by what Erik had just done. He was feeling the same thing. He had to get Peter back...by any means necessary.

* * *

"Stay behind me," Wanda whispered, standing up, "I'm not going to let that sicko come in here and touch you."

"Wanda, no, you're hurt," Peter swallowed, "It...I'll be fine, okay? Please, just rest-"

The door swung open and Max walked in.

He raised an eyebrow, "Are you really going to try to fight me, witch?"

"For him? Yeah, I am," Wanda said, "I don't need my powers to kick your ass either," she yelled before kicking him between the legs, "Peter, run!" she yelled.

"Not without you!" Peter yelled.

"Go-" Wanda started but gasped in pain when the bracelet started to shock her arm.

"WANDA!" Peter yelled, running to her.

"I've had just about enough of the two of you," he said, taking his sunglasses off and showing his red eyes. He grabbed Wanda by her hair and looked into her eyes, "Sleep. Now."

Wanda went lax, falling into unconsciousness almost instantly.

"Now, you and I are going on a little trip," Max said, grabbing Peter, "Look at me."

Peter gritted his teeth and looked at the floor. He got the gist of this guy's power. If he couldn't look in your eyes, he couldn't force you to do something, right? All he had to do was keep his eye contact away from his.

Max grabbed him by his hair and forced him to look into his eyes, "OPEN YOUR DAMN EYES!" he yelled at him.

"NO!" Peter yelled, refusing.

Suddenly, there was the sound of an energy beam...it was a familiar sound. The grip on his hair disappeared and he fell to the ground. He put his hands over his eyes, still refusing to open them.

"Peter," he heard a familiar voice breathe out. It was a voice that would usually sound so sweet to him and always calm him down. The voice made him so happy. But right now he was still full of dread. His sister was unconscious and he had no idea where his other sister even was.

Peter opened his eyes and looked up. He saw Alex standing there, right beside his dad, with the other members of the X-Men behind him.

"I-" Peter started, staring into Alex's blue eyes.

"Shh, it's okay," Alex said, kneeling down, "It's going to be okay, we're here now."

Peter's eyes widened when he saw Stryker walk up behind the group, "KURT, GET THEM OUT OF HERE!" he screamed.

Kurt instantly grabbed onto as many of the X-Men as he possibly could, wrapping his arms around them. He managed to grab most of them and the others grabbed onto him. Everyone except for Scott and Alex. Alex had been too focused on him but Kurt managed to grab Erik's arm just as he disappeared. Scott hadn't been fast enough to grab onto Kurt.

Stryker hit the blast the same moment they disappeared. The energy going through the room and causing his ears to ring. Alex fell down on top of him and Scott fell in the hallway. Peter caught Stryker looking down at him one last time before his eyes drooped closed.

* * *

"NO!" Erik yelled, "What have you done?!" he yelled at Kurt. His voice was angry and echoing through the woods, but he didn't care. He felt so angry. His son had been _so close_ , he'd almost been able to save him and now that chance was gone.

"Peter told him to grab us," Mystique snapped, jumping to Kurt's defense, "Jean, what's going on?"

Jean closed her eyes, "Stryker...he was behind us and Peter saw him. He...he knocked them out. Oh god, Alex and Scott are still in there and so is Peter! What do we do?"

"We need to regroup back at the jet and figure out what to do next," Storm said quickly.

"No, we need to get back in there!" Erik yelled.

 _"Erik, please come back to the plane,"_ Charles said, his voice ringing through his head, _"We'll devise a plan and get him out in the safest way, I promise."_

"You know I can't do that, Charles," Erik took a shaky breath.

 _"Think of his safety,"_ Charles told him, _"Please, you can't just go running back in there now. You'll get yourself and the team killed then Peter will have no one if anyone manages to save him. My friend, do you want that for him?"_

Erik took a deep breath, "No," he said quietly and turned to Kurt, "Get us back to the jet."

* * *

Peter woke up in a different room this time. He immediately shot up in the bed he was on, "WANDA?!" he yelled, not caring about the volume of his voice. He was in a small room on a cot now and there was just one light hanging from the ceiling. The walls were concrete, just like the floor. The wall had a logo on it, something he couldn't make out...but he remembered it from somewhere. Maybe he saw it on TV.

The sound of dripping water entered his ears and he saw a small leak in the roof that was being caught in a bucket.

_It's something out of a horror movie,_ Peter thought nervously.

He put his hand on the wall and tried to make his hand vibrate. Nothing happened. It was like his speed was _gone_.

Peter walked over and tried the door, but it was locked. He hit it with his shoulder a few times, trying to break it. He ignored the pain he felt as his arm hit the metal door. Getting back to what was left of his family and Alex was what was important right now. Finding Lorna was important right now. Not the pain he felt. He wasn't important now.

He took a shaky breath and tried again, but the door swung open and he was in someone's arms.

"Hey, sugar, good to see you again," someone breathed in his ear.

* * *

"Back against the wall," Alex said, moving to the very back of the cell he was in with Scott, "On three, we shoot the door."

Scott nodded, pressing his back to the wall.

"One...two...three," Alex said and shot an energy beam straight from his chest to the metal door.

Scott pulled his sunglasses off at the same time and shot the beams from his eyes.

The room lit up with a red color, the combined force of their powers lighting up the small cell they were in. Scott felt warmth, he felt it become **too** hot, like he was standing too close to a fire. But he continued. They had to get out of there for their own lives and for their friends. He took a shaky breath, keeping his eyes open and ignoring the burning he was starting to feel.

"It's working!" Alex called over the noise when he saw the door start to bend, "KEEP GOING, SCOTT!"

The door broke in two, practically snapping under the force of their energy. The sound rang out through the hallways as the pieces of the door fell.

"Let's get the hell out of here, little brother," Alex said, running out quickly, Scott following close behind.

They immediately ran into a guard and Alex shot him with a blast from his hand.

"Alex!" Scott said quickly, "The professor said no killing!"

"He took my boyfriend," Alex said simply.

"You're acting like Magneto!" Scott yelled.

"Maybe that isn't such a bad thing!" Alex yelled back at him, sounding angry.

"Hey!" someone yelled, pounding on the door, "Hey, get me out of here!" she was yelling loudly.

They ran up to the door.

"Step back from the door!" Alex yelled and immediately started to open it.

* * *

"Maybe we could call the police?" Jean suggested, "Or the CIA! We could call them!"

Erik looked at her like she was some kind of idiot, "Yes, because the _government_ will help us," he said sarcastically, "They don't care about mutants. Don't let Charles fool you. We're just parasites in their way."

"ERIK!" Charles yelled at him.

Erik just threw a glare his way and went back to talking to them, "We'll infiltrate from the back. We can find another way in. I'm sure they have an emergency exit."

"Erik, I'm in charge of this team-" Raven started.

"Not right now," Erik said simply and went back to talking to the team.

 _I can't lose another child,_ Erik thought, a sense of dread entering him.

* * *

The door burst open and Wanda pressed her back against the wall to avoid some of the debris that came with it.

Alex stepped over the fallen door, "Hey, it's okay, we're here to rescue you."

"Forget me, I need to rescue my brother!" Wanda yelled, stepping over the door.

"How many people are in here?" Alex demanded, walking after her, "Have you seen a guy named Peter Maximoff? He has silver hair, a little shorter than me," he said quickly.

"Peter is my brother," Wanda said quickly, "That creep took him."

"Whoa, you're _Wanda_?" Alex demanded.

"Yeah, who the hell are you?" Wanda demanded as she stalked down the hallway.

"I'm Alex Summers, I'm his boyfriend."

_"And this is me and Wanda," Peter said, lying down beside Alex on the bed._

_They were in his room, just spending time together. The radio was playing "Jump (For My Love)" in the background. Peter had been dancing around to it until Alex had grabbed him and kissed him. Then he noticed the pictures on Peter's table and started to ask about them. The room was dimly lit, the only light coming in from the windows as the sun started to set outside._

_"You two are twins?" Alex raised an eyebrow, looking at the polaroid picture._

_"Yeah...we don't exactly look alike," Peter shrugged, "I'm a lot paler than her and the hair," he told him, "But I'm, like, twelve minutes older."_

_"What happened to her?" Alex asked quietly, looking down at the picture of the two of them smiling together. They were sitting in a sandbox together. Wanda was in a pink sundress and Peter was in a bright, yellow shirt that looked like it was covered in sand. They both had messy hair, not looking like it had been brushed in days. Their smiles were genuine though, they looked happy._

_"She, uh..." Peter took a deep breath, "She was home, visiting from college. I was excited and I snuck up on her from outside. She shot like this...red energy at me. It sent me flying across the yard and I hit my head pretty hard on my dad's car."_

_"Erik?" Alex asked._

_"No, Django," Peter shook his head, "Anyways, so I woke up and...she was gone. She told my parents that she couldn't risk hurting any of us again. I haven't seen her since then."_

_"I'm sorry, Peter," Alex said quietly._

_"Don't be. One day she'll come back to us," Peter smiled weakly, "And she'll come here and live with us...and be a part of the X-Men with me. I don't know when, but I know it'll happen eventually."_

"He has a boyfriend?" Wanda demanded.

"Guys, now isn't the time for this!" Scott said quickly when he saw the guards approaching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the positive feedback so far on this story.


	5. It's Getting Close

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Non-graphic non-con is implied heavily and will be discussed later from this point.

"They haven't gotten to you yet," Wanda breathed out.

"What?" Alex demanded.

"They don't have one of these...things on you," Wanda said, gesturing to the device on her wrist. She looked at Scott, "You! How much control do you have over your eyes?"

"Uh...I'm still learning-" Scott started.

"Break this off," Wanda said as the guards approached.

"What?!" Scott asked quickly, "No! I could hurt you!"

"Just do it!" Wanda yelled.

"Scott, now," Alex said quickly.

Scott took a deep breath and took his glasses off and focused on the device on Wanda's wrist, shooting a small blast directly at it.

"OW!" Wanda yelled when it burned her. She looked down at the inflamed skin, wincing slightly. It was nothing compared to the pain she'd been through while in the facility, but it still stung.

"Shit, sorry!" Scott said quickly.

Wanda glared down at the bracelet on the floor, "Step back," she told them quietly, her voice full of rage, "Both of you."

Alex put his hands up as a sign of peace as he stepped back, grabbing Scott's arm and urging him to do the same as he watched Wanda's back.

The guards running towards them stopped when they saw Wanda without the bracelet.

"I'd say run," Wanda said, her hands starting to glow red, "But don't bother," she said before letting out a loud scream, all of the pent up energy she felt flowing out of her hands and going right towards the group of guards. She hadn't been able to use her powers in years and it was finally out. All the rage she felt...being taken, being hurt, Peter being taken, Django and Marya being _murdered_...all the rage from it came flowing out.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Erik demanded when he heard the sound of an explosion. He ran out of the jet and onto the platform, the kids following. He saw the red energy and shook his head, "We have to go. Now."

"We still need to figure out what to do next!" Jean said, "We don't have a solid plan."

"We don't have time to make a _solid plan_ anymore," Erik said, looking down at the hill at the red glow coming from inside of the building, "We have to go and rescue them. Now."

* * *

Alex watched with wide eyes as the men fell to the ground.

"Are they dead?!" Scott squeaked out, shock written all over his face.

"I don't know, I've never used my powers on humans on purpose before," Wanda said simply, stepping over their bodies, "Trust me, they deserve death."

Scott looked over at Alex nervously.

"Do you know where Peter is?" Alex asked, ignoring Scott's nervous look and following her, stepping over the bodies as he did. He tried to ignore the far away looks in their eyes. He didn't stop and see if they were dead. He believed Wanda that they deserved this...they had followed the orders to take her and countless other mutants. They took _Peter_.

"I have an idea," Wanda said simply. She stopped when she saw the exit and stared at it.

"You can go," Scott told her, "Don't worry, we can find him."

"I'm going to find my brother," Wanda said, her hands glowing red as she walked. She suddenly stopped and looked up at the camera, "Take care of the cameras, I don't want them able to find us."

Alex raised his hand and shot an energy blast at it, leaving a burnt spot on the wall as he did.

* * *

"Look," Kurt said, teleporting over to the broken pieces of the door in the hallway, "They must have gotten out!"

"Good," Erik said and raised his hands. The doors flung off of the wall and into the hallway of all the cells.

Mutants... _so many_ of their kind ran out of the cells. From the range of the elderly to children. They hadn't been expecting _that_.

Jean stared with wide eyes and raised her hands, "Stop!" she said quickly, "There's a jet outside, Charles Xavier is in it. He'll take you to safety, just hurry out there and don't stop until you get there!" she told all of them.

The kids and adults ran around them and suddenly, an elderly man grabbed Erik's shoulder.

"Thank you," he said, speaking in a raspy voice as he walked out. He didn't run with the others, he just walked out slowly.

Erik shook of his shock and started to walk down the hallway again and froze when he heard crying.

"Is that a child?" Kurt asked quietly.

Erik held his hand up to silence them and listened. He approached one of the cells he'd ripped off and walked in slowly. He saw a teenage girl sitting in the corner of the cell, her little knees pulled up to her chest. She was in a pair of pink pajamas that said SUPERGIRL in bedazzles on the shirt.

Her hair was red...but it looked like it had a greenish tint to it. Just like-

"Lorna," Erik breathed out. He remembered her from all the pictures Peter had shown him one day. Peter was so proud of the fourteen year-old girl. She had joined countless dance classes and had managed to have a normal life.

The girl looked up at him with wide, green eyes. Her face broke out into a grin, "It's you!"

Erik stared at her with wide eyes.

She got up quickly and ran over, hugging him tightly, "You're Pie's dad!"

"Uh...yes," Erik said, not sure what to do, "Are you hurt?"

"They gave me a shot that took my blood!" Lorna said quickly, holding onto him, "I don't like needles and neither does Pie. The guy with crazy eyes came in and made me calm down."

"Okay," Erik took a deep breath, "Do you want to go and wait for me outside while we find your brother?" he tried, trying to calm himself down, "I'm going to give you to a very nice lady. Her name is Jean," he said, walking out with his arm around her small shoulders.

"You're going to get Pie back...right?" Lorna asked, staring at him.

"I will," Erik told her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I will, I promise."

Lorna nodded.

"Jean, I need you to take Lorna outside," Erik said, "All the way to the jet."

"But everyone else-" Jean started.

"This is Peter's sister," Erik told her, "I'd like for her to be treated with the utmost care, if that's okay with you all."

"Erik, we don't have time-" Raven started.

"Let's go, sweetie," Jean smiled at Lorna, grabbing her hand, "I'm going to take you to the jet and you're going to stay with the professor while we make sure your big brother is okay."

* * *

"That wasn't so bad, was it, sugar?" Max purred in Peter's ear, still on top of him.

Peter took a shaky breath and shoved him off as hard as he could without his speed, "Get the fuck off of me!" he yelled, his voice hoarse. He felt _disgusting_ and he felt like he just wanted to curl up in a ball and die.

"Aw, don't be like that, sugar," Max told him, stumbling back.

Peter quickly pulled his pants up the best he could and stood up, ready to fight him. He didn't have his speed, but he'd tried sparring before. He didn't know much, but he knew how to take care of himself.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door.

"HELP ME!" Peter yelled but Max grabbed him, putting his hand over his mouth as soon as he did.

"Quiet," Max hissed in his ear.

The door burst off the hinges and into the hallway without a loud _**CLANG** _ of metal.


	6. Like Light in My Veins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally find Peter.

Erik walked into the room and froze momentarily at the sight in front of him. A man with red eyes was holding his son tightly with his hand over his mouth. He was about to say something when he saw that Peter's belt was unbuckled and so was the front of his pants.

Rage filled him, more than he'd ever felt before. This... _monster_ most likely violated his child. **His. Child.** His only child.

Erik looked over and saw the bed frame was made out of metal. He raised his hand and the bed bent, "Let my son go. Now."

Max raised an eyebrow, "I don't think you have the leverage here, man."

"Trust me," Erik said, "I do."

Kurt watched as the metal bent and a part of it wrapped around the man's neck. His red eyes went wide as his air ways were cut off.

"Mr. Lehnsherr, sir, the professor said no killing," Kurt said quickly.

"I don't care," Erik said, making the metal squeeze tighter around the other man's neck.

His red eyes closed slowly and he let go of Peter in the process. His body fell to the floor with a thud.

Peter stood there for a moment, almost shaking. He suddenly stared at Erik for a moment before walking over and hugging him tightly.

Erik didn't hesitate in hugging Peter back. He held him tightly in return, taking shaky breaths. He was able to save his son. His son was alive and safe.

"It's okay, it's okay," Erik said, trying to comfort him, "I have you."

"Dad," Peter choked out, starting to cry. He'd never actually called Erik _dad_ before. Neither of them had been comfortable. He'd referred to Erik as "my dad," sure. But he'd never done it directly.

He was kind of pissed that it wasn't under better circumstances.

"You're okay," Erik continued to pet his hair softly, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

"Erik, you're killing him," Raven spoke up suddenly.

Erik grabbed the back of Peter's head and hid his face in his shoulder, "Don't watch," he murmured to him. One of his hands released it's tight hold on Peter and his hand curled into a fist.

Peter closed his eyes tightly, still holding onto Erik tightly. He heard the bending of metal, Raven and Storm yelling at his dad, then the loud **_SNAP_**. He knew it was a bone breaking. He'd had his fair share of broken bones over the years, he knew the sound.

"Take him," Erik said suddenly, pulling away from Peter, "I'm going to go after Stryker."

"What?!" Peter yelled, "Dad, _no_ , hey-"

"Peter?!" Alex asked suddenly.

"Go with Alex, Peter," Erik said calmly, "I'll meet you back at the plane."

"No!" Peter yelled, his eyes filling with tears, "You can't go!" he yelled at him, surprising everyone, including Erik.

"Peter, he did this to you. I can't let him get away with-" Erik started.

"YOU CAN'T _GO_!" Peter continued to yell, "I ALREADY LOST THE REST OF MY FAMILY, DON'T YOU GET IT?! THEY'RE DEAD! I SAW THEM DIE! I'M COVERED IN THEIR BLOOD!" he yelled, gesturing to the tried blood on the front of his pants where he'd kneeled down to check on Marya and Django.

Alex swallowed, looking at Erik and shaking his head. Not now. He couldn't go now. Peter needed him.

"Okay, Peter," Erik said quietly, "I'll go back with you," he said, putting his hand on his shoulder, "Let's get out of here."

Peter nodded and started to walk, wincing slightly. His leg hurt where he'd been shocked and his lower back was also starting to hurt.

"Here," Erik said quietly. He picked him up easily and everyone stared at him in shock.

"Whoa, man, you're strong," Peter blinked, staring at him.

"You're actually not that heavy," Erik mumbled, "Now rest," he said as he turned around. He stopped when he saw a girl standing in the doorway beside Alex.

She had long, brown hair, and dark eyes. She looked malnourished and was in a tattered black dress and a red jacket. She was staring at him and he couldn't read the emotions on her face. It was a mix between hostility and anger.

"Who are you?" Erik demanded.

"None of your business," she said simply, "Who are you?"

"I'm his father, get the hell out of my way," Erik snapped.

Her face broke out into a grin, "I like you already."

"Let's get out of here," Alex said quickly. He looked over at Peter and saw how pale he was and saw the needle marks on his arms. He saw that pieces of his hair had been cut. It was probably unnoticeable to most of them, but Alex practically had every aspect of the younger boy _memorized_. Things were different and he didn't like it. He didn't like the idea of those men changing anything about Peter.

"Watch for Stryker," Erik told them as they walked out of the facility, "We don't know where he is," he told them as they walked out the door and into the snow.

Peter suddenly cried out in pain, yelling loudly. His voice echoed through the woods and he fell out of Erik's arms as he tried to claw at the device on his ankle. It was shocking him as hard as he'd felt it so far.

"Pietro!" Wanda said quickly.

Erik raised his hand but it didn't fall off, "It's plastic, I-"

Scott took off his glasses and shot a beam of energy at the small device.

The device broke off on the ground into two small pieces.

"We need to take this back and examine it," Raven said, picking up the pieces.

"Wait," Wanda said suddenly, "They put that on all of us. When I was out, I saw it on the others too. Where did the others go?"

"They're on the jet," Storm said, "They must be in pain."

"Scott, run ahead and start to get those things off of them," Raven said quickly.

"Wait!" Kurt said and grabbed onto Scott, "This will be faster, my friend," he said and the two disappeared.

"You're okay, you're okay," Erik said, kneeling down to Peter.

Peter was trying to stop whimpering as he felt tears spill from his eyes. His cheek was pressed into the snow as he clutched his ankle weakly.

"Let me see," Alex said quickly, kneeling down to look at Peter's ankle. He bit his lip when he saw the dark, red mark that the device had made from it. His hand hovered over it, shaking slightly. He couldn't touch him, he was scared he'd just hurt him further.

"We need to get out of here," Raven said quickly, "Erik, let's go!"

Erik swallowed and picked Peter up again, staring down at the pained look on his face.

* * *

"Is that everyone?" they heard Scott asking as they came into the jet. They walked in and Scott was breathing heavily, looking exhausted.

"You okay?" Alex asked his brother when he saw him.

"Yeah, just...it was hard to not hurt them," Scott said quietly, "They all had them on them. They were in pain."

"But you stopped it," Charles said proudly.

Erik walked in with Peter and most of the jet went completely silent as he did.

"PIE!" Lorna yelled from where she was standing by professor. She ran over and tried to look up at him, "Is he okay?!"

"He'll be fine," Erik said quietly, kneeling down on the floor. There weren't enough seats now and it was going to be a hard ride.

"Is everyone on the plane?" Hank called.

"Yeah, I think so," Alex called from the back. He hit the button to close the doors and ran over beside Erik, kneeling down to Peter.

"Okay, I need everyone who doesn't have a seat to hold on tightly as we go up!" Hank called, looking back at them.

"Lorna, get in your seat and buckle your seat belt. You can take it off again once we're in the air," Charles told her quickly.

Lorna bit her lip and looked at Peter before getting in her seat and buckling it. She froze for a moment when she saw Wanda, "Wanda?"

"Lorna," Wanda breathed out. She walked over an kneeled down, ignoring the small lurch her stomach gave at the sudden movement as the plane was rising.

"Where were you?" Lorna asked, her green eyes filling with tears, "What's wrong with you? Are you hurt?"

"I'll be okay soon," Wanda told her quietly, "They...took me. But I'm here now."

"They hurt mom and dad," Lorna croaked, "I couldn't stop them."

"I know," Wanda said, wiping away Lorna's tears, "We're going to be okay. I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but we'll be okay."

* * *

Alex ran his hand through Peter's hair, "Hey," he said quietly once they were in the air, "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Peter swallowed, "Hurt."

"Where does it hurt? I can take a look," Alex said quietly, "I'm not a doctor but I bother Hank when he's working on people."

"I'll just wait for Hank, if you don't mind," he said, smiling slightly. He looked over at Lorna and Wanda as they talked quietly, "See? Told you she'd be back one day."

Alex smiled weakly, "Yeah, babe, you were right. She's back."

"Excuse me," Erik said suddenly, looking at Wanda, "Do you know her?" he demanded, seeing how she was talking to Lorna. Lorna was Peter's sister and he already felt protective over her.

"She's my sister!" Lorna smiled, holding Wanda's hand.

Erik froze and looked down at Peter.

Peter looked away from him quickly.

"Are you adopted?" Erik demanded.

"No, I'm his twin," Wanda said quietly, "And apparently you're my father...and he didn't tell you about me."

"No, he most certainly did not," Erik said quietly. He wanted to be angry at Peter, but he was still too relieved that Peter was alive and safe. He watched as Alex held onto Peter and played with his hair. He was mumbling something to him as he kissed his forehead.

"We'll need medical personal at the school as soon as we get back. Everyone here will need checked out," Charles told Hank, "I'll call ahead, but you need to be ready as well."

"I want Peter checked out first," Erik called to them.

"I'll do my best to make that happen, my friend," Charles called back to him.

* * *

"Lorna and Wanda go before me," Peter mumbled, walking slowly up the stairs as the other rescued mutants followed Hank to the medical room, "I'll be in my room until then. Just call for me when you're ready."

"Oh, no you don't," Erik said, walking up and coaxing him back down the stairs, "You're going to be down there and checked out immediately. Let's go."

Peter flinched slightly as Erik touched his shoulder but followed him.

Alex watched anxiously, swallowing when he saw Peter flinch. He made eye contact with Erik and nodded at him.

He knew what Erik was going to go and do the moment he was sure Peter and Wanda were okay.

And he wanted to be a part of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Max" was based off of a comic book character. Congratulations if you can guess who it is.


	7. Darkness is Sinking Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets checked out, Alex gets offended, Wanda steps up, and Alex and Erik come to an understanding about what they want to do next.

"Hello," Erik said awkwardly as he walked out to where some of mutants were waiting outside of the medical room. They'd been taking them in three at a time. Some of the children chose to stay and some of the older mutants chose to leave. Charles was also working on finding some of the younger children's parents at the moment.

Erik had gotten Peter into the medical room and Hank locked him out so he could focus without Erik hovering. He saw Wanda sitting at the end of the hallway, away from everyone else, and made the brave decision to approach his daughter.

_His daughter._

The phrase felt so foreign to him now.

Wanda glanced up at him, "Hello," she said and went back to resting her head on the wall.

"I'm...your father," Erik said quietly, "You can call me Erik. You don't have to call me dad just because Peter did."

"Django was my dad. I called him dad," Wanda whispered and took a deep breath as she stood up, "But I don't hate you or anything," she held out her hand.

Erik hesitantly shook her hand, "Well, I'm thankful for that."

Wanda swallowed, "Peter isn't going to be able to deal with anything for a while. He thinks he's brave, but he's never been through something like this before," she bit her lip, "He's going to need us, _Erik_."

Erik nodded, "And we'll help him."

"We need to return to DC," Wanda said quietly, "I'll need to identify my parents' bodies. I won't let Peter do that."

"I'll come with you," Erik offered, "Or one of the others could, if you don't want that."

"Can someone stay with Peter and Lorna?" Wanda asked, glancing over at the door, "I can't leave them alone right now."

"Alex will stay with them," Erik nodded.

Wanda crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "And do we trust Alex with Peter?"

"I do," Erik told her, "He would do anything to protect him, as I would. He's...older than him."

"How much older?" Wanda demanded.

"Eleven years," Erik sighed, "But I do trust him...and that's a hard thing to gain from me."

* * *

"Okay," Hank said, wrapping the wound on Peter's ankle, "You'll need to eat a little extra and drink a lot of fluids, but that's about it. I'd lay off the running too," he smiled at him and noticed that Peter wasn't smiling back, "Peter?"

Peter stayed silent, his eyes staying on the floor.

"Did something else happen?" Hank asked, looking confused.

Peter swallowed, "I..." he trailed off and took a deep breath, "Can, um...can I talk to the professor?" he asked awkwardly.

"Oh...sure, let me go and get him," Hank smiled, gripping his shoulder for a moment before walking out the door.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Erik demanded the moment Hank walked out the door.

"Is Peter okay?" Alex asked quickly.

"What's happening?" Wanda demanded.

"Okay!" Hank said quickly, "You three...just stop. Peter wants to talk to Charles so I'm going to go and get Charles. Wanda, I want you in the medical room as soon as the next door opens."

"You can't withhold information," Alex said quickly, "Erik is Peter's dad!"

"Peter is twenty seven and therefor, an adult. Anything he wants to tell you has to come from his mouth, not mine," Hank said before stalking away from the three.

Alex swallowed and gripped his hands into fists tightly before going back to the room. He walked over and pounded on the door with his fist.

"Hank, did you get- oh," Peter said, opening the door a crack, "Hey, Alex."

"Hey, mind if I come in?" Alex tried.

"Um...I don't think Hank would like that," Peter said before slamming the door shut.

Alex stared at the door in shock and turned to Erik and Wanda, "He locked me out!"

"So it seems," Erik said.

"He can't...lock me out!" Alex huffed and sat down in the chair, crossing his arms.

"I believe Peter has a habit of doing whatever he wants," Erik said before sitting down beside him, "Stop getting offended because of a door, Alex."

"Wanda Maximoff?" a woman called from one of the rooms, "Please, come in," she said.

Wanda was about to walk in and stopped when Lorna exited the room, "Hey, did you do okay?" she asked, stopping her.

"Yeah!" Lorna said happily and held up a cookie, "I got a cookie from her!"

"Lorna needed more food in her system," the woman explained quietly, "Do you know her?"

"I'm her..." Wanda trailed off and cleared her throat, "I'm her legal guardian, actually," she said, taking the papers from her and looking down at them. It listed any injuries she had (thankfully just a few bumps and bruises) and what steps needed to be taken to take care of them.

Erik watched as Wanda took care of Lorna, surprised at the girl's willingness to take over. Peter was obviously in no shape to do so at the moment, considering he wouldn't even let Alex in the room.

"Wanda, here," Erik stood up quickly, taking the papers, "Lorna can sit with me while you go and get checked out."

Wanda stared at him for a moment before handing over the papers, "Lorna, can you go with Erik?"

Lorna nodded happily and walked over, sitting down beside Alex. She looked up at him, "Hi, I'm Lorna."

Alex gave her a smile, "Hello, Lorna. I'm Alex," he told her, "I know your brother."

"You do?" Lorna asked, giving him a suspicious look.

"Yeah," Alex pursed his lips, "Don't let him in on it, but I kind of love him."

"You do?!" Lorna asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I do," Alex nodded.

_Alex didn't even know the moment he fell in love with Peter. They hadn't been together very long, probably not even a month when he realized that he'd done it though._   
_Their training was over for the day and they were lying out in the grass by the lake. The students were in class, so the only noise they had was the birds chirping quietly._

_Peter rolled over so he was lying on his stomach and started to pick at a dandelion that was growing. He was so focused on it for a guy who could barely sit still. He had to constantly occupy himself, he hated not moving._

_But he went slow for Alex. He always did. He'd lay with him and relax, even if it meant not moving. He'd fidget, sure. But he tried to relax for Alex._

_Alex smiled slightly and grabbed him, pulling him closer so he was almost lying on top of him, "Hey."_

_"Hey," Peter said, staring up at him._

_Alex laughed quietly, "This is torture for you, isn't it?"_

_"Hell yes," Peter mumbled, hiding his face against his chest, "I'm sorry. It's...stupid. But I hate not moving. The energy gets pent up and I just want to run."_

_"How about we go out to the track?" Alex suggested, "You run and I'll watch. That way we're both relaxing."_

_Peter's eyes widened for a moment before he kissed him, "You're the best," he said, getting up quickly. He held his hand out for Alex, waiting for him to get up as well._

_Alex went to get up slowly and froze when he looked up. Peter was staring down at him with those dark, brown eyes, his smile lighting up his entire face. It sort of reminded him of Erik, just...softer and gentler. Peter had accidentally thrown on one of Alex's faded t-shirts this morning and was wearing a ripped up pair of jeans._

_Peter was younger than him, Alex knew that. Alex knew that was one of the reasons Erik didn't trust him with Peter yet. He thought he was taking advantage of him. But **HEY**! If anyone was taking advantage it was Peter. He totally pursued him in the first place. He thought he'd hated Peter for the longest time for missing him in the blast. Admittedly, it was stupid to be pissed at him for that and actually made him feel even more insecure about being "too slow."_

_Alex did everything he could to make sure Peter never felt insecure again._

_Peter looked at him with so much love. He was an affectionate guy and he wasn't that way towards a lot of people. It was kind of a relief, to Alex, since he'd admit he got jealous easily._

_Peter was pretty much his first love and he didn't want to let that go._

_Love._

_He froze at the word._

_He **loved** Peter._

_He **loved** Pietro Django Maximoff._

_"Alex?" Peter asked quietly, "Hey, are you okay?"_

_"Yeah," Alex said quickly, snapping out of it, "I'm fine. Don't worry," he said, grabbing his hand and getting up quickly, "Let's go to the track."_

"I'm his boyfriend," Alex told her quietly, waiting for her to react.

Lorna looked him over and crossed her arms, "Are you taking care of him?" she demanded, "He thinks he doesn't need taken care of but he does."

"I do my best," Alex nodded.

"Good," Lorna said simply and crossed her arms, "I like you then."

"She's easier than you," Alex said as Erik sat down on the other side of Lorna.

"Well, she's fourteen," Erik said simply, looking over the papers, "But you are winning me over."

Alex raised an eyebrows.

"We have the same thought running through our heads right now," Erik said, still not looking up at him, "I don't have to be a telepath to know that," he said, shutting the folder and finally making eye contact with him, "And you're welcome to come with me when I do it."

Alex stared into Erik's steely blue eyes and saw pure _rage_ in the other man's eyes. He felt the same rage. Someone hurt Peter. Someone hurt a person he **loved**.

"I'm with you," Alex nodded.

"Charles," Erik stood up when Hank came in with him, pushing his wheelchair out of the elevator, "What the hell is-"

"Peter wants to speak with me," Charles told him, "Privately. So I want all of you to stay put and don't _eavesdrop_. I'll know if you do."

"Charles, I have to know what's going on with him-" Erik started quickly.

"And you'll find out in time, my friend," Charles cut him off, "Right now I need to figure out what's wrong with Peter so I can help him," he told him before going in the room with Hank.

"Is Pie okay?" Lorna asked quietly.

"He will be," Alex told her, "Trust me, the professor will take good care of him. We all will."

* * *

"Peter, is everything okay?" Charles asked, "Hank said you wanted to speak with me."

Peter glanced up at Hank before going back to staring at the floor.

"I can leave, if you want," Hank said quickly, "If you just want to talk to Charles, I mean."

Peter swallowed and shook his head, "No, uh...you're the doctor, so I guess you'll need to be here for this," he took a shaky breath, "I..." he trailed off. He couldn't get the words to come out. He knew what he wanted to say but they wouldn't come out. It was like his body still couldn't _believe_ it.

"Take your time, Peter," Charles told him quietly.

Peter ran his hand through his hair quickly, feeling the pieces that they'd taken samples of, "I...I need you to read my mind. I can't do this."

"Are you sure?" Charles asked, looking concerned.

Peter nodded, "I-If you don't do it, it'll never come out."

Charles nodded, "Whatever you want to do, Peter. This is your decision."

Peter took a deep breath and jumped off the medical table. He grabbed a chair and pulled it up, putting it right in front of Charles. He sat down and closed his eyes tightly, "Go."

Charles took a deep breath and nodded, "I'm going to have to focus, Peter. Is there a specific happy memory you'd like to focus on?"

"A few," Peter said quietly.

"Think of those memories," Charles said, "And take deep breaths."

Peter nodded, his eyes still closed. He didn't feel what Charles was doing, he was too focused on the memories he had.

* * *

 

_"Say **Pietro**!" Django said excitedly, sitting with Peter on the couch as he held baby Lorna for the first time. He'd been too scared when she was younger, but now the baby had started saying words. She already got "momma," "poppa," and almost "Wanda." All that was left was Peter._

_"Peter is easier," Peter mumbled._

_"PIE!" Lorna giggled suddenly._

_"Good job, Lorna!" Django said, clapping his hands._

* * *

_ Peter yelled out in pain as he launched himself into the wall, fear taking over him. What was  ** that ** ?! One moment he'd been sitting on his bed and the next he'd ran into the wall. _

_"Pietro?!" Marya yelled as she ran in the room with Django._

_"I hit my head," Peter sniffled, rubbing it, "I ran into the wall."_

_"I can see that," Django kneeled down and picked up the seven year-old, despite him being a bit too big for it now, "How about we go get an ice pack for that, yeah?"_

_"Yeah," Peter mumbled, putting his head on his shoulder._

_"DJ," Marya said quietly._

_"Whoa," Django said quietly, staring down at the dent Peter had made in the wall. He gave Peter a smile, "Well, looks like your sister isn't the only one with a special gift."_

_"Really?" Peter asked with wide eyes._

_"Yes," Django smiled, "You're both special, we always knew you were."_

* * *

_ "So," Peter walked into the kitchen when he saw Erik up again with a cup of coffee, "Want to spend time with me, since you don't sleep?" _

_Erik raised an eyebrow, "I do sleep, just not right now."_

_"Right," Peter crossed his arms, "It's Sunday night and ABC plays some stupid movie. The TV is open because all of the kids have class tomorrow so I was wondering if you'd like to watch a movie with Alex and I."_

_Erik stared at him for a moment and nodded, "Okay, I'll join you," he nodded._

_"Cool," Peter said, grabbing a bag of popcorn from the cabinet and walking back to the living room._

_"They're playing Jaws **again** ," Alex called from the couch when he heard him come in._

_"Hey, it's not that bad," Peter said, walking in and sitting close to him on the couch and handed him the bag of the popcorn, "Erik is watching with us. Share."_

_Alex glanced over at where Erik had taken his place at the other end of the couch and didn't say anything._

_They spent the night laughing at just how cheesy it was. Peter also cracked a joke that Erik's smile looked like the shark and laughed until his sides hurt._

_Alex laughed._

_Erik laughed._

_He felt so happy..._

* * *

_ Marya and Django's blood, the terror of his sisters both being gone now, hands groping him, red eyes flashing brightly as Max whispered what to do in his ears. Peter didn't WANT TO, JUST **MAKE HIM LET GO** - _

"Peter!" Charles said, snapping him out of it quickly.

Peter sat there, gripping the arm rests of the chairs tightly as he started to hyperventilate. He felt his vision get blurry and he felt light headed.

"Peter, take some deep breaths," Hank said quickly, looking over at Charles nervously when he saw the guy was practically in _shock_ as well. He focused on Peter and put his hands on his shoulders, "In your nose for four seconds, then breathe it out of your mouth. Breathe with me, Peter," he said, mimicking what he was telling him to do.

Peter nodded, trying to copy Hank. But he felt himself slowly get dizzier until he fell forward, his vision going black. The last thing he remembered was a pair of arms catching him so he didn't fall onto the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter passed out because of his hyperventilating caused by the panic attack, not a serious injury.


	8. I Lose Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Final Chapter) The dust settles and it's time to deal with the aftermath of everything that's happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the support I received on this story. You guys motivated me to keep such frequent updates. You're all amazing.

"Peter? Hey, I think he's coming around, guys," a familiar voice said, sounding far away, "Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty."

_Alex._

Peter's eyes opened slowly and he looked up and saw Alex's face instantly, "What happened?"

"You passed out," Hank told him, taking a strap off of his arm and looking down at the readings on it, "Everything seems normal, for you," he glanced over, "Is there anything further I'll need to do?"

Peter instantly took his eyes away from Alex and started to stare at the ceiling.

Charles cleared his throat, "Yes, Hank, actually there is," he looked at Erik and Alex, "Can you two leave us for a moment?"

"No," Alex said bluntly. He grabbed Peter's hand quickly, "I want to be here for him," he smiled at Peter and kissed his head.

"Can you just wait outside?" Peter asked quietly, "No offense...to either of you," he mumbled, "I just want to talk to the professor, please."

Erik looked confused at the serious tone in Peter's voice, "Okay," he told him, "Alex, let's go. We can't leave Lorna alone."

"Peter," Alex said quietly.

"I'll be okay," Peter smiled weakly at him, "I just...need a minute. I'll tell you everything, I promise, Alex."

Alex swallowed and nodded, "Okay, just..." he trailed off and kissed the side of his head, "I'm so glad you're okay," he told him before walking out with Erik, sending one last look to him before closing the door.

Peter glanced up at Charles and took a deep breath, "So...that happened. I don't know what to do next and you're the real adult here and I trust you enough to know you won't tell anyone," he bit his lip, "You'll have to tell Hank though. It just...won't come out right now, I don't know why."

Charles nodded and cleared his throat, "Hank, it would seem that Peter has been assaulted."

"Well, yeah, obviously," Hank said, gesturing to Peter's ankle, "He also lost a lot of blood-"

"Hank," Charles said quickly and looked into his eyes, "Peter was _assaulted_."

Hank looked at him, confused, before realization dawned on him. _No._ Not Peter. Peter couldn't have been... He didn't deserve that. He was _innocent_ , the most he ever did was make out with Alex in front of him and that wasn't a crime, it was just annoying. Peter only wanted to save people and do good. Peter was **good**.

 ** _NO ONE_ ** deserved that.

"Okay," Hank took a deep breath, "Okay, I can..." he trailed off and stared at Peter. He shook his head, "You're my friend, man."

"I know," Peter said quietly, "I'd like you to take me to a hospital and...get whatever needs to be done...done," he bit his lip and finally made eye contact with Hank, "I wouldn't ask that of you, man."

Hank nodded, "Uh," he looked at the professor, "We could...go together and keep this off the record."

Charles nodded, "I can help with that," he told them, "Though I suggest we go out the back, I think we may be bombarded with questions the moment we go out."

Peter nodded and got up slowly, following them out the back.

* * *

"What the hell is taking them so long?" Erik grumbled.

"Language," Lorna pointed at him.

Erik sighed, "Sorry, Lorna," he said simply before looking down at the papers, "Alex, go and get Lorna orange juice from the fridge."

"You go," Alex snapped, obviously irritated.

Erik glared at him, "I'm sorry Peter kicked you out, but go get the fourteen year-old kidnapping victim a drink."

Alex took a deep breath and nodded before walking away.

Erik watched him round the corner and quickly walked over to the door. He looked at Lorna, "Let's not tell Alex about this, hm?"

Lorna nodded, a smile on her face.

Erik twisted the doorknob and opened it, looking around the room, "They left," he said in shock.

"What?" Alex demanded, walking into the room, a bottle of orange juice in his hand. He figured Lorna would probably like that...Peter liked it.

Erik crossed his arms and sighed, "Hank and Charles are gone too. They must have taken Peter somewhere."

"What do we do now?" Alex demanded.

"Wait," Erik sighed, "Let's go watch some television, Lorna. Maybe you can make some friends with the other students."

* * *

Peter walked out of the room, messing with his hands awkwardly as he pulled on his silver jacket again.

"We'll be able to get the test results back to you by tomorrow, sir," the nurse smiled, "Just be sure to leave your contact information, you left it blank on the form," she said, handing it back to him.

Peter glanced down at the clipboard, "Uh...sure, hang on a minute," he said awkwardly and walked over to where the professor and Hank were waiting.

"Peter?" Charles asked as he walked over, "How did it go?"

Peter swallowed and ignored the question, "Uh...she needs contact information so she can tell me when my tests are back," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Can I put the school's number down?"

"Yes, here, I'll put down my office extension as well," Charles said, taking the papers and writing it down for him. He smiled and handed it back, "Give that back to them and we can take you home."

"Uh...thanks, man," Peter mumbled and walked back to the nurse's desk.

"Where do we go from here?" Hank asked quietly.

"We support him," Charles told him, his voice slightly on edge, "We support any decision he makes about what happens next, that includes his choice of if he tells Alex, Erik, or his sisters."

Hank nodded, "What if..." he took a deep breath, "What if Peter caught something?"

"You mean an STD?" Charles asked bluntly.

"Yeah," he said quietly, looking down awkwardly. He couldn't imagine something like this ever happening to Peter. Peter wasn't serious about anything except for Alex. Alex, he was pretty serious about.

"Like I said," Charles told him quietly, "We support him."

* * *

Alex stood up quickly, faster than Erik, when he heard the door open and close. The students weren't allowed out this late so he was either going to go yell at them or find Peter and the others.

He found Peter, walking in the door with Hank and Charles close behind him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Alex breathed out, walking over and pulling him into a tight hug.

Peter closed his eyes tightly and hugged him back as hard as he could manage. His arms were still sore from the needles though and...how rough Max had been. The man had groped him all over, leaving temporary bruises that healed almost instantly because of Peter's accelerated healing.

"Hospital, I wanted to see a real doctor," Peter shrugged.

"And you couldn't tell us that?" Erik demanded, looking over at Charles accusingly, rather than Peter.

"No, Erik," Charles said simply, moving passed him in his chair, "Peter wanted to keep it private, so we kept it private. You must respect your son's wishes."

Erik swallowed, "Peter, do you feel okay?"

"Yeah, uh...I kind of just want to go to bed. I haven't slept yet," he looked around them expectantly, "Where's Wanda and Lorna?"

"I showed them to a room," Erik explained, "Lorna demanded to stay with Wanda. You can see them if you want, before you go to bed."

Peter smiled weakly, "Yeah, that'd be great."

"I actually think you should eat something too, Peter," Hank said quickly, "You haven't eaten anything yet and your metabolism moves fast."

Peter suddenly felt pain in his stomach at the mention of food, suddenly realizing the hunger he felt. He hadn't ate since he was taken.

"You go and check on Lorna and Wanda," Alex said quickly, kissing the side of his head and pulling away from the hug, "I'll go make you grilled cheese."

"My favorite," Peter smiled the best he could.

"After twinkies," Alex smiled at him before walking away.

Peter turned around and stared at Erik and realized, just by how Erik was looking at him, that Erik knew. Alex might possibly be oblivious, but Erik knew. He was looking at him with such pity that it made him want to be sick.

Maybe that was just the hunger pains talking.

"Let's go check on them," Peter said quickly.

Erik nodded, "I'll lead the way," he said, going up the stairs. He glanced back at Charles as he went up.

Charles just nodded to him and headed towards his office.

* * *

Peter peered in the room and smiled softly.

Lorna was curled up on a large bed with Wanda, as close to her as possible. Wanda had an arm securely around her, protecting her.

Lorna had missed Wanda...so much, especially after she first left. She actually blamed Peter for a short time because he'd been the one to be hurt by Wanda's powers. She said he scared her away.

But that was just the preteen in her talking, eventually she "forgave" him for it.

"I missed them," Peter said quietly.

Erik didn't say anything.

"How, uh...how are you and Wanda?" Peter asked, "Everything okay there, man?"

"Yes," Erik said quietly, "She doesn't want to call me dad."

"Figures, she already calls..." Peter trailed off and blinked. The reality suddenly came crashing down on him. Django and Marya were gone. He'd actually forgotten.

He'd _forgotten_ his parents were dead. That he'd knelt in their blood. They were dead because Stryker was looking at him.

"Peter," Erik said suddenly, seeing the look on his face.

Peter's breathing started to get quicker and he shut the door as softly as possible before sliding down the wall, "No, no, no, no, no," he repeated over again, burying his face into his knees, "No."

"Come on," Erik said, helping him up, "Let's go to the living room, the students are going to hear you."

Peter just started shaking and didn't respond.

The man who was his father was gone. He was gone. Django had sang him to sleep at night and played guitar. He'd played guitar when he was young and they danced around the living room. He taught Peter "karate" so he could protect himself (Django's version of karate was fake punching each other in the stomach). He hugged Peter when he used to be petrified of thunderstorms. He accepted their mutations so easily without a second thought.

His mother was gone. She was gone. The woman who took care of him for so many years was gone. The most accepting, tolerant woman in his life. She told him that everything would be okay when he got a crush on a boy at school, then a girl a week later. She said she didn't care and that she would love him no matter what. She protected him from the cops every time he screwed up and was his alibi, despite him making her life a living hell growing up.

They were gone.

"They can't be gone," Peter choked out, "They can't."

Erik took a deep breath and looked around before picking Peter up again for the second time in twenty four hours. Peter was light, it wasn't that he minded. If Peter was in his right mind, he'd probably be embarrassed though considering he was twenty seven years-old.

"Erik, what the hell did you do?!" Alex demanded when he saw Erik walked into the living room with Peter, who was shaking like a leaf.

"It seems the gravity of the situation is hitting him," Erik snapped, putting Peter down on the couch, "I didn't do anything."

Alex sat down beside them quickly, "Peter? Peter, hey, it's okay."

"It's not okay," Peter said, finally letting out a sob, "It's never going to be okay again. They're gone, Alex! My mom and dad th-they killed them because of me-"

"No," Erik snapped, surprising them both with the harshness in his voice, "They did not kill them because of you. They killed them because Stryker is a disgusting human who hurts people just because he can. You did nothing to cause this, Peter. Nothing."

Peter took a shaky breath as Alex wrapped his arms around him, "They're gone," he croaked, "They're really gone, Alex."

"I know, babe, it's going to be okay," Alex said, holding him tightly.

Peter turned his head so he could hide his face against Alex's chest as he started to sob, "It's not okay, it'll never be okay."

Alex just rocked them slightly, trying to console his distraught love.

Erik just watched them, unsure of what to say. He could try to repeat what Charles did to him, after Magda and Nina died, but he knew that wouldn't do much for Peter right now. He knew nothing anyone said could make what happened better.

It felt like a tradition. He was happy for sometime, then he lost it. He always lost the ones he loved. He always ended up hurt, in the end.

He wished he didn't pass that tradition down to Peter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sequel to this will be posted ASAP, possibly tomorrow! But I want this to be told in parts. This story is what happened, our next step is the recovery. "Recovery" meaning Peter's test results and dealing with what happened to him mentally, the funeral of Marya and Django, what happens to Lorna (since she is still a minor), Erik finding out some more stuff (comic book fans know about Lorna, so you know what it is). It also includes Alex and Erik teaming up (obviously foreshadowed heavily in this fic). Erik might also finally get to kiss Charles. Maybe.


End file.
